Pruning-hook.



L. H. BARNES & B. A. SNELL.

PRUNING HOOK.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 8. H114.

Patented Sept. 5,1915.

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LOUIS H. BARNES AND BERT A. SNELI L, O F MEDINA, NEW YORK.

PRUNING-HOOK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed June 8, 1914. Serial No. 843,902.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, LoUIs H. 'BARNES and BERT A. SNELL, citizens of theUnited States, residing at Medina, in the county of Orleans and State ofNew York, have in-. vented certain new and useful Improvements inPruning-Hoks, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to new and useful improvements in tools and hasfor its primary object to provide a simple and highly useful deviceparticularly adapted for trimming bushes, trees and plants and whichconsists of a combined saw and pruning I hook that is arranged in anovel manner so that either instrument may be employed readily andeffectively.

An important object of our invention is to provide a tool of thecharacter described which consists of a body to which is attached asawblade and a slidable pruning knife, said saw blade being arrangedupon one side of the body and the pruning knife at one end of the bodyso as to cooperate with a hook formed on said end.

Another important object of our invention is to provide means wherebythe operator when grasping the handle of a tool may easily operate theknife to provide the desired trimming or pruning action, said knifebeing automatically returned to normal position.

Another important object of our invention is to provide a tool of thecharacter described that is simple as to construction, strong, durable,light and inexpensive to manufacture.

The above and additional objects are accomplished by such means as areillustrated in the accompanying drawings, described in the followingspecification and then more particularly pointed out as claimed.

With reference to the drawings, wherein we have illustrated thepreferred embodiment of our invention as it is reduced to practice, andthroughout the several views of which similar reference numeralsdesignate corresponding parts :Figure 1 is a side elevation of ourimproved tool, Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view partly inelevation showing in detail the knife and operating means therefor, Fig.3 is a horizontal sectional View taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 1 showing theknife, hook and cooperating parts, Fig. 4 is a longitudinal detailsectional view taken on line 4-el of Fig. 1 and showing the means foradjusting the saw blade, Fig. 5 1s a vertical sectional view taken online 5-5 of Fig. 2 showing the pruning knife and guide means therefor,and Fig. 6 1s a transverse sectional view taken on line 66 of Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawings by characters of reference, the numeral 1designates as an entirety the body of our improved tool which consistsof a handle 2 to which one end of a tubular member 3 is detachablysecured, and a hook member 4: that is provided at the free end of itsshank portion with an internally threaded collar 5 which receives theother end of the tubular member 3. The handle 2 is shaped similarly tothe ordinary saw handle and at its lower end is formed with a collar 6which receives one end of a saw blade 7. Mounted within the collar 6 isan adjusting screw 8 to one end of which is suitably secured as at 9 oneend of the saw blade 7 An adjusting nut 10 is turned upon the outer endof the adjusting screw 8 to facilitate the desired adjustment of the sawblade. The other end of the saw blade 7 is secured by suitable fasteningmeans 11 to a downwardly extended portion 12 formed on the hook 4 on theshank portion thereof. It will thus be seen that the saw blade 7 isdisposed angularly with relation to the tubular member 3.

Slidably mounted within a longitudinal recess 13 that is formed in oneface of the shank portion ofthe hook 4 is an approximately rectangularpruning knife 14 having its outer edge beveled and sharpened as at 15. Aguide pin 16 is detachably secured to the hook l and extends through alongitudinal slot 17 formed in the knife 14. An enlarged head 18 isformed on the outer end of the pin 16 to act as a washer. The cuttingedge of the knife 14 is disposed parallel with the opposing edge 19 ofthe hook proper and is normallyspaced from said edge 19 so that a branchor twig to be cut may be readily positioned.

As a means for operating the knife, we provide an operating rod 20 thatis sliclable within the tubular member 3, reduced at one end as at 21and at said reduced end secured by fastening means 22 tothe rear end ofthe knife 14;. The knife 14 is preferably recessed at its rear edge toreceive the free end of the reduced portion 21. The other end of the rod20 extends into the handle 2.

The handle 2 is formed of two shell like Patented Sept. 5, 1916.

sections 23 secured to each other by suitable fastening means 24 toprovide an approximately hollow or tubular handle. In this connection itwill be noted that the handle is approximately L-shaped and that one endof the rod 20 extends into the shorter arm of the handle.

Each section 23 is recessed upon one face as at 25 so as to accommodatea pivoted operating lever 26 that is pivoted as at 27 to the handle 2intermediate its ends. The inner end 28 of the lever 26 is designed toengage the inner end of the rod 20 and force the rod outwardly withrelation to the handle resulting in the forward moving of the knife 14:to provide the desired cutting action. The shorter arm portion of eachhandle section 23 is provided with a semicircular recess 29 so as toprovide a cylindrical chamber when the sections are secured to eachother. A helical expansion spring 30 is mounted within the chamberformed by the two recesses 29 and at one end engages a collar 31 rigidlysecured to the rod 20. The spring 30 is compressed when the rod 20 ismoved forwardly and serves to return the rod and knife to normalposition as shown in the drawings.

The operator in grasping the handle 2 may readily move the lever 26without removing his hand from the handle so that the desired pruning ispermitted and manipulation of the device as a saw is enabled.

It will be readily seen that we have provided a simple and effectivedevice which will be of great service to nurserymen and gardeners intrimming trees, plants, flowers, etcetera. It will also be seen that thesaw blade 7 forms a diagonal strut which re inforces and strengthens theimplement.

In practice, we have found that the form of our invention, illustratedin the drawings and referred to in the above description, as thepreferred embodiment, is the most efiicient and practical; yet realizingthat the conditions concurrent with the adoption of our device willnecessarily vary, we desire to emphasize the fact that various minorchanges in details of construction, proportion and arrangement of partsmay be resorted to, when required, without sacrificing any of theadvantages of our invention as set forth.

What is claimed is 1. A pruning hook comprising a handle,

a tubular member having its ends external screw threaded, one of saidends being fitted in said handle, a hook having a cutting edge, a shankextending rearward therefrom and an internally screw threaded collar,said collar being adapted to be fitted on the free end of said tubularmember, a rod slidably mounted in said tubular section extending to apoint in said handle and through the collar of said hook, said hookhaving a longitudinal extending groove, a knife slidably mounted in saidgroove to prevent lateral movement thereof, said knife being connectedto said rod, said handle having a recessed portion formed therein, acoil spring encircling said rod having one end engaging the wall of saidrecess and the opposite end secured to said rod to normally hold saidrod and knife in spaced relation from the cutting edge of said hook, anda lever pivoted to said handle adapted to engage the free end--ofsaidsliding rod whereby when the lower end of said lever is pressed said rodwill be pushed forward.

2. A. pruning hook comprising a tubular member having its ends externalscrew threaded, a handle fitted to "one end of the member, a hook havinga cutting edge, a

shank extending rearwardly therefrom and I an internally screw threadedcollar, said collar being adapt-ed to be fitted on the free end of saidtubular member, a rod slidably mounted in said tubular member andextending into said handle and through the collar of said hook, saidhook having a longitudinal extending groove, a knife slidably mounted insaid groove to prevent lateral movement of the same, said knife beingsecured to one end of said rod, means carried by said rod to normallyhold said knife in spaced relation from the cutting edge of said hook,means carried by said handle to engage the free end of said rod, and adi-' agonal strut secured to the under side of hook and extendingdownward and secured to the lower portion of said handle to securelybrace said hook in the cutting opera tion.

In testimony whereof we afiix our signatures in presence of twowitnesses.

LOUIS H. BARNES. BERT A. SNELL. lVitnesses:

WARD REYNOLDS, AMY S. COOPER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G.

